A Christmas Wish

This Christmas season, a time in which we exchange gift wishlists and focus on the material needs and wants of our friends and family, I would like to ask you a favor. Stop for 10 minutes, and send a thought or a prayer to the family of a very special young woman. Her name is Lizzy Seeberg, and she was murdered by Notre Dame.

Yes, it's a bold statement. It's an angry statement. I haven't been able to properly speak out about her story yet, because I am still so, so angry. But this Christmas, the gift I can give to her and her family is my voice.

If you Google her name, you can very easily read her story. She was sexually assaulted by a Notre Dame Football player, and 10 days later, she took her own life. Her case was not investigated by the NDPD until the Chicago Tribune blew the story out of the water with an investigative piece last month. Since then, there has been an outpouring of questions and support for Lizzy and her family. South Bend prosecutors are not following through on the case, however, and Notre Dame administration has not been cooperative in the least. To give you a taste of their attitudes, friend of mine who works at the Morris Inn on Notre Dame's campus and I were IMing as he watched a few of the higher up admins read the story in the lobby. He described the facial expressions and reactions. They were not just concerned - they were angry. They conducted hurried phone calls on their cell phones and though he couldn't hear what they said, he could pick up on tones and body language. It was not a pretty sight to behold.

Lizzy Seeberg is my Saint Mary's sister. One of the greatest aspects of Saint Mary's is that we are bonded for life, no matter what our major, class year, or personal backgrounds. We don't need to know each other; the bonds of sisterhood transcend time and space. We stand together. Lizzy needs us to stand up for her now, because she no longer can.

I've read a lot on the matter. I've read prosector's blogs and news articles, press releases and official statements. What the matter comes down to is not poor journalism on the part of the Chicago Tribune and the South Bend Tribune. It is not about about who has jurisdiction in what areas. It is not about fairness and good vs. bad investigative practices.

It is about the fact that Saint Mary's women are often treated as second class citizens on Notre Dame's campus, and that a high profile male has more respect and rights allotted to him than a female on their campus. It as about the fact that a supposedly Christian and Catholic group of people don't value a woman as a person, and that the Church is so drunk with its own patriarchal power that Lizzy's case was set up for failure from Day 1. There are good people at Notre Dame; one of them is my mentor and good friend. This is not an attack on the people of Notre Dame. This is an attack on the institution of Notre Dame. And there is a difference.

I lived on campus for all four of my years at Saint Mary's. I attended football games and parties at Notre Dame; I ate dinner with friends and hung out in their library on occasion when I needed a larger range of resources. I went to Ireland with some Notre Dame girls, and worked on the ND campus for two summers for Conference Services. I dated the occasional Domers; some of my friends are married to them (and they are very nice people). There is a very complex and strange relationship between Saint Mary's and Notre Dame, and I don't have the wherewithal to dive into it today. But what you should know is this: by and large, the attitude towards SMChicks from the general ND population is one of condescension and distrust. Men think we're easy, women think we're there to steal their men, and everyone knows that the reason we're at SMC is because we didn't get into ND.

With that attitude, I have no surprise that the ND "investigation" of Lizzy's allegations was swept under the rug, and met with closed mouths and "No comment" when outsiders started asking questions. When I first heard about Lizzy's death, and all of the conflicting information, my reaction was "There's something we don't know here. There's more. Way more." And I was right. There was a lot more than a stressed out and depressed young woman. There's a young man with a history of violence and disrespect who has not been held accountable for his actions. There's an administration who is desperately trying to cover things up as best they can. There's a president of a women's college who is interestingly siding with the ND administration to a certain extent, who is not willing to take a stand for her students at the risk of alienating her contacts and relationships with Notre Dame.

We can't fix the past. We cannot go back in time to help Lizzy in her hour of need. We already failed her on that count. But we can stand up and speak out about our experiences and perceptions of the culture clash that exists between Saint Mary's and Notre Dame. I don't know how to fix the attitudes. That's way beyond my personal abilities. But I can tell people what happened to me, and what I saw during my time.

Notre Dame is not a safe place for Saint Mary's women. I'm not even sure it's a safe place for women in general. I have found that institutions steeped in thousands of years of traditions generally aren't safe for those of us who live in the modern world, and embrace science and rational thought.

So this Christmas, regardless of your creed or faith, regardless of your background or your love or hate for Notre Dame, I ask you to send good thoughts, pray or do whatever you do. Ask the universe for the Seeberg family to be blessed with grace and strength. Pray for the lost girl who felt she had no recourse other than taking her own life. And hope beyond anything you've ever wished for that somehow, Justice will prevail. Because it looks like Justice needs a little help today with this case.

All I want for Christmas is Justice. I hope you want the same.

Peeved, as in Pet

You ever have something that REALLY grinds at you? REALLY gets under your skin, until you glare at it and make scary, terrible noises?

Those things are usually called pet peeves. Linguistically, it appeared in 1919, and has its roots in peevish (ornery or ill-tempered), and the word is considered a "back-formation" (where you create a new word from an old word by removing parts of it, which may or may not change what part of speech it is. Ex. couth from uncouth, shevelled from dishevelled, burgle from burglar, etc.)

Some people know what my pet peeves are. I have several, but the number one pet peeve that manages to piss me off at least once a week is what I call "Don't you know your own email address, other Erin Scott?"

You see, there are other Erin Scotts in the world. I have accepted this terrible fact because there really wasn't much sense in bemoaning it, and killing all of those impostors would just talk so much time, you know? But it wouldn't be so bad if I didn't get their stupid email all of the time. There are about 7 other Erin Scotts for which I get emails ALL. THE. TIME. It wouldn't be a big deal, either, if it wasn't for the sheer stupidity of people who share my name. I mean, seriously? Who does not know their own email address?

Now, it could be that some of these folks just don't want to give out their actual email address. To which I say, fine, be weird like that, but keep me the hell out of it. It could also be...that.... actually I have no other ideas on why the stupid Erin Scotts out there give out my email address.

In this day and age, it is of critical importance that you have an email address. And that you check your email. And that you respond to email (hopefully in a polite and timely fashion). Somewhere in there, I'm pretty certain that you type your email address at least once. Probably when logging into your email.

I assure you, I am the only erin.scott@gmail.com. I am an early adopter: when Gmail first started coming out, and my tech friends were all OOOOH GMAIL, I said, "Hey, throw an invite my way?" And they did. And I got erin.scott@gmail.com (just like I also got Voice and Wave: as an early adopter). I tend to be on the edge of technology - not the cutting nor the bleeding edge, but I'm rollin' along, fairly in the know. With a name that's not truly unique, you have to be on the edge to get what you want.

I actually have a response written and saved as a signature in Apple Mail, so that when I get email intended to go towards Other Erin Scotts, all I have to do is hit about 3 buttons, and the original sender will receive an email that goes something like this:

I'm sorry, but you have the wrong email address for Erin Scott. Please check your records. You may wish to contact the intended recipient through other means.
Additionally, it should be noted that erin.scott@gmail.com and erinscott@gmail.com are actually the same address.

Thank you,
Erin Scott

I get a lot of "erinscott@gmail.com" mail. Obviously.

This one time, I almost had a fight with someone over email, who was seriously insistent that I was fucking with her, and trying to get out of paying extra money for a second cat in the apartment. She got the Other Erin Scotts dad involved because he was a co-signer on the lease or something, and then he started getting all up in my e-face about lying and dealing with consequences. Sir, I think you have bigger problems than me. Such as the fact that your daughter is an apparent idiot, because a) she doesn't know what her email address is and/or b) she thought that she could get away giving out false information.

I have some messages to the Other Erin Scotts out there:

To the Erin Scott in the DC area, pay your freaking landlord already.

To the Erin Scott in California, your level of interest in fitness and gyms is sort of frightening.

To the Erin Scott in Colorado: Your dad wants to talk to you.

To the Erin Scott in Australia: I know waaaaay too much about you. You are a nurse, you live possibly in Adelaide, you like gyms, and you might have a small animal? Not sure on the last tidbit.

To all of the Other Erin Scotts: GET A CLUE.

Daily Photo: Forget Me Not

Family: Boraginaceae
Subfamily: Boraginoideae
Genus: Myosotis
Species: Not entirely sure.

Photo was taken on a pond in Northford, CT, early September of 2010.

"Research"

I've (more or less) decided to sing "I Wonder As I Wander" for the Christmas Mass prelude. I spent some time watching/listening to YouTube videos, to get a sense of what works and doesn't work with the song.

The first hit on YouTube is of Vanessa Williams, from a TV special called "Christmas is Coming: Rob Mathes and Very Special Friends." It's, well, Very Special.

*cringe* Can I get some pancakes to go with that syrup?

Barbara Streisand has something to say on the subject of syrup, also.



Maybe we should just get a bucket in which to collect all of the syrup. To be fair, I sort of can't stand her at all/wish she would STFU already, so my opinion is definitely biased.

Next up, an Irish singer named Maureen Hegarty.

WOW. Totally different. Totally awesome. It's faster, and lighter, with an emphasis on phrasing that brings a whole new element to the song.

The Cambridge Singers sing a nice arrangement, which continues the same theme of a slightly faster tempo, and features some very pretty, lush harmonies.

Sadly, I'm not singing this with a choir, but if I were, I rather like this arrangement. I'm not sure who's it is, but it's nice.

And then, I started laughing, because stuff got crazy.

I have no idea who this poor man is, but did no one tell him that it's of Appalachian/folk origin, not operatic?

I think the next hit has my favorite title: "I Wonder As I Wander Christian Christmas songs music Gospel classic popular famous carols." WHOA I had no idea that the real song title was such a mouthful! Good thing I have YouTube to help me learn.

I can hear my choir director cringing. Seriously.

And then there's some non-traditional stuff...


OK, not what I was expecting, but you know. Whatever makes you happy.

It subsequently got freaking weird. You really only need to listen to the first 10 seconds to understand.



UM. What the HELL?!
For the record, I do recognize electronic music as its own (albeit strange) art form. It does take some skill to mix and manipulate sound through a program to result in something interesting. I just also happen to have some purist in me, which currently says "Aw HELL no" if you ask it about techno remixes of songs I like.

I'll be basing my phrasing off of Maureen Hegarty, obviously. And I've learned what NOT to do, which is equally important. For starters, I will not be inviting a techno-remix dude to help me out. I might, however, figure out how to play a dulcimer in 3 days, and accompany myself. Though I'll need to figure out how to get a lap dulcimer to stay upright while I stand.

Memo to self: call Mom. "MOM! Do we have something I can safely perch Dad's really expensive musical toy on?"

Only at Yale

Some days, working in IT at Yale gives me very strange opportunities.

Today's was tuning a dulcimer for one of my coworkers, and then playing with it for a little while.

Worse things could happen, I guess!

Do you hear what I hear...?

It's the whole freaking Handel's Alleluia Chorus. In my head. Because hiring is done. And I'm sending out 33 emails as you read this (or maybe it's even done!).

If I didn't have SO MUCH work to do tomorrow, I would seriously consider playing hooky and go skiing as a celebratory reward to myself. But alas, I have a backlog of work that is absolument horrible. So I'll be spending Friday working on BMEC fines and fees instead of swoosh-ing down a snow-covered hill. But I'll live. Maybe.

In other news, I've been asked to sing the prelude to the Christmas Mass that my entire family is apparently cantoring. It's the Von Scott Family Singers/Players, here to amaze you with the multi-talented children and sheer variety of creative genius. I don't really want to get into the issue of "Erin + Religion = Dramatic Familial Conversations" - I'm thinking of this as an opportunity to perform a lovely song for a group of people who will think it's just that: lovely. I'm still undecided about what I'm going to sing, but I'm leaning towards the following choices:

• I Wonder As I Wander (American Appalachian)
• Still, Still, Still (German/Austrian)
• Entre le boeuf et l'âne gris (French)
• If I could find the sheet music/full lyrics, I would attempt "Third Carol for Christmas Morning/Ye sons of men with me rejoice" which appears to maybe be an Irish carol? Unfortunately, I can't find ANYTHING, ANYWHERE, other than this thread on some random discussion site. So, if any of the singers who happen to read my blog out there also happen to have a copy of "The New Oxford Book of Carols" or O'Muirithe's book on carols and wouldn't mind me making photocopies...

I think Christmas music still is my favorite to sing. It's so pretty, and generally happy and sweet.

I can see the Finish Line...

...and it's waaaaaaaaay in the distance. Le sigh.

We've wrapped up the last official day of interviews as of 4:00 today. I was scheduled to have a 4:30 interview, but they didn't show. Their loss! I have a rescheduled interview for tomorrow at 2:00 for a student who showed up at the wrong time yesterday, and who was greeted with the Eyeballs Over The Glasses Look, while I stated "You are very late." I think I might have scared the shit out of him. I've decided to be nice and let him interview, seeing as he was very apologetic at the time. He did send me a follow up email profusely thanking me for the opportunity to interview despite his mistake. Unfortunately, what he doesn't know is that unless he proves to have some mad media skills, he's not getting hired.

You see, I've already chosen my ten new hires. :-)

Using that ranking system I mentioned in my previous post, we have the following break down of scores to the left. The only way I'm hiring the last student has far less to do with his mistaken time slot and far more to do with the fact that 30% of the applicants who interviewed are currently ranked above a 4. Not ranked a 4 or above (that would be 42%), but above a 4. With stats like that, I know who I'm hiring. (There are currently 7 students who did not interview, either because they didn't show up, or didn't fill out a place on the interview schedule.)

Given what the numbers look like, I'm probably going to hire just that top 30%. I said between 10 and 12 - if I want to hire 12, I'd have to deliberate between four 4s, and I'm lazy efficient.

So tomorrow will not be spent deliberating painfully over a wealth of 3.5s and 4s - tomorrow will be spent catching on all million emails that I've gotten over the past few days and haven't answered because I've been interviewing students for the past 5 days/16 hours. Oh yeah, and I'm helping run a phon-a-thon, too. Did I mention that? No? Well, maybe that's a discussion for another day, seeing as it's 10:30pm, I haven't eaten dinner despite the fact that I've been cooking all evening (ParkerPants food, crock potting for tomorrow, just now getting to actual dinner).

Mmm, red sauce, cannellini beans and broccoli... tasty dindin!